Single sales of cheap cigars could be banned in St. Paul

The days of 99-cent cigarillos such as Black and Milds and Swisher Sweets may be numbered in St. Paul.

Anti-tobacco activists and retailers are squaring off over a proposed city ordinance that would ban the sale of cheap, single-serve cigars popular at gas stations and convenience stores.

With an eye on underage sales, the St. Paul City Council will vote Wednesday on the ordinance, which prohibits retailers from selling low-cost cigars in singles unless they're priced at $2.10 or more. Cheap cigars would have to be sold in packs of five or more.

The council held a public hearing Aug. 20. The ordinance is sponsored by Council Member Dai Thao, who represents Frogtown and Summit-University -- communities with large populations of young people.

Dr. Lisa Mattson, president of the Twin Cities Medical Society, told the council that prohibiting the sale of single cigars selling for as little as 50 cents apiece was an obvious decision.

"Depending upon the size of a cigar, there can be up to 70 times more nicotine in a cigar than there is in a single cigarette," Mattson said.

In March, the Ramsey Tobacco Coalition performed compliance checks at tobacco vendors in St. Paul using a 17-year-old buyer. The girl was able to purchase cigarillos at nine out of 24 stores. Of the nine, six did not ask for identification. Another three checked her I.D. but still sold to her.

A 2010 Minnesota Student Survey showed that nearly one in five male high school seniors in the St.

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Paul School District had smoked cigars or cigarillos in the previous 30 days.

In addition, an audit of a randomly generated sample of St. Paul tobacco retailers found that 75 percent sell single cigars. The average price is $1.08, and the cheapest is 50 cents. Many came in fruit flavors.

The cigars often are hollowed out to make casings for marijuana.

Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, said in an interview Monday that the issue is a serious one his organization is willing to discuss, but that the ordinance would not restrict youth access to tobacco products.

Instead, they'll cross city borders, as will adult consumers, who will fill up with gas and buy other products outside of the city, as well. He said St. Paul retailers fared extremely well in compliance checks conducted by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

"Most of our retailers are very, very good in terms of not selling to minors," said Nustad. He also said the law punishes law-abiding retailers without fighting the problem. "Those that are already violating that law are likely to continue violating that law."

Steven Rush, a representative of the Holiday Stores, told the council last week that Holiday Station gas stations conduct their own training and compliance checks using a third-party company.

"If sales associates fail, they're disciplined," he said.

The city of Brooklyn Center passed a similar ordinance in June, and since then, customers have dropped off at the Holiday Station store there and lined up a few miles down the road at a Holiday store in Brooklyn Park, Rush said.

"People are mobile," Rush said. "They can simply go to other communities and buy those products. It's simply harming the honest, ethical retailers."